A modern definition of equanimity: cool. This refers to one whose mind remains stable & calm in all situations-

Raise your hand if you have ever talked to yourself, or better yet, talked to yourself in the third person during a difficult or trying time in your life. Don’t be shy now – I have two hands waving in the air if that matters?!?

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Breathing, positive self talk, calmness, evenness of mind – Chill. The gentle sway of a budding birch tree, daffodils and crocuses awaking underfoot, sharing a smile with a complete stranger as you spin or run on by … All the while talking to yourself, coaching yourself, through a difficult set of experiences.

When talking to myself in the third person I normally recite something like this: “Dude, keep cool, this equanimity stuff? Is pretty damn important! Chill … Breathe … Relax the back of your throat … Eyes forward, Heart Open! Take another deep breath … Breathe … Equanimity is key … Zip it up – You got this!.”

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Daily Meditation:

Here I am, some random dude on the inter-webz, openly telling you that I talk to myself – all of the damn time! And who cares if you do the very same! When we are unable to walk – spin – run calmly away from a “situation“? Remember: This equanimity stuff? Is pretty damn important!

Part of the post I cut out, was that through being a positive coach to ourselves, we can open a lot of doors we may have slammed shut in the past due to negative self talk. This goes well beyond any physical activity we choose to engage in – heck – opening a jar of peanut butter can be hard enough at times … And who wants to beat themselves up doing that?!?😉

There are people that don’t talk to themselves?😉 I think there’s a difference between talking to yourself and learning to coach yourself. I used to do a lot of talking to myself that wasn’t very helpful or productive, then I learned to start most of my internal dialogue with “C’mon Cynthia. You’ve got this, just find the right key.” (I visualize unlocking doors to better efforts a lot.) When an effort is going particularly crappy – or I don’t want to do something – my most useful dialogue is “You don’t like doing this b/c you don’t feel like you’re good at it. You don’t feel like you’re good at it b/c you haven’t practiced enough. Keep practicing. Change the way you feel.”

If you aren’t coaching yourself – being in that moment with yourself – then you’re on the sidelines. Bystanders talk amongst themselves. Coaches get into the game with the players.